all i needed was the love you gave
by Smudgee
Summary: Sometimes the only way to glue what shatters back together is with sheer determination. Or, Jughead Jones needs to fight for what he helped break.
1. Chapter 1

"The Serpents are my family, Betty, I need to be there for them," Jughead insists, his tone short while running his hands through his hair, pulling off his beanie before setting it back on his head, crossing his arms and staring hard at her.

Betty deflates. "I'm sorry, Jug." The raw sincerity in her voice seems to throw him off for a second.

His confusion seems palpable, like he wanted her to yell back. To fight him and for him as she always has. That he needs her to be the person who takes his anger when no one else wants to forgive it or handle it.

"I've thought of you as my family since I was five years old, you know? I had always assumed you felt the same way. I'm sorry I didn't get that they were more to you than I was. Than I am. I wasn't trying to make you choose, Juggie, I just wanted to be with you," she tells him, eyes watering and fists starting to curl into themselves.

"Betty-"

"I know now that's not what you want and I'll respect your choice, okay?" Turning to leave she looks back over her shoulder with a sad smile. "I'll miss you, Jughead."

Her heart aches for them both as she barely hesitates as she passes through the doorway of his trailer. She had wanted to believe that her love helped fill some of the emptiness he'd been feeling all these years. How did she not see that it wasn't enough? Did the intensity of her own feelings blind her to the things she must not have wanted to acknowledge? Acting on faith has gotten her nowhere, next time, she vows, she'll know better so she can do better. She can be better.

Next time.

There's a part of her that hopes he follows her, hopes he grabs her and tells her she's wrong, that he loves her and she's enough. Of course she's enough, how could she think she wasn't? That they were a family and he's so sorry if he made her feel like she wasn't a part of him, that she's just as much a part of him as he is of her.

He doesn't follow her, though. She hears the click of the door closing and it sounds so final in her ears, making them buzz with the realization that he let her walk away. She decides then and there that if she's the only person who's going to fight for her, then that'll just have to be enough.

Betty makes it home before she falls apart. And the only thing she can think about that night curled in her bed with hair wet from tears is that she hopes he finds happiness one day.

She waits a week to see if he shows up. Or if he calls, hell, she'd take a text at this point. A handwritten note on a post-it, even. Seven days of tears and frustration and wanting so badly to shake him to make him see how much she loves him and doesn't he realize they can get through anything together? But that only works when both people are invested. Admitting that he's not might be ends up being one of the most painful moments she's survived through so far.

The morning of the eighth day she pulls out her phone and sends one text. _Is your offer still open?_

It takes less than thirty seconds for her to get a response. _Of course, B. I love you_

 _I love you too, V_ is all she sends back before grabbing the bags she had packed the night before. Dropping a letter in the outbox on her way, she takes a deep breath and prepares herself for a life she never wanted for herself but accepting it's the one she's getting.

* * *

It's been ten days since he's last seen Betty and he's floundering, his pride keeping him on the Southside when he gets a letter. He recognizes her handwriting immediately and sits down hard on the sofa as he opens it, his heart hammering in his chest.

 _Dear Jug,_

 _I had always thought that the times I missed you while you were standing next to me were the worst sort of pain. I was wrong. This is worse. You know how to find me if you need me._

 _I miss you. I love you. Be happy._

 _Love,_

 _Betty_

Jumping up, he tosses the letter on the aged coffee table as he grabs his keys and heads to the door, almost slamming it open in his haste. He's on the motorcycle and gone before he realizes he never even closed the door behind him.

Pulling up outside of Betty's house, he jumps off but sees Archie standing on his porch before he makes it all the way up the stairs. Stopping, he heads to where Archie's standing.

"Hey, Archie."

"Jug," is the curt reply he gets.

"What's going on?" he asks even though he knows Archie most likely already knows.

Archie scoffs. "Come on, Jughead. Don't act innocent."

Shoulders slumping he nods at him. "Look, Arch, I-"

"Broke Betty's heart? Yeah, I know." Archie shakes his head at him, meeting his eyes and Jughead is taken back by the heat in the them. "Betty and me, man, we were your family. From the time we were kids, it was the three of us against the world and maybe I wasn't a great friend the last couple years but Betty has never not been there for you."

Jughead swallows, looking at his feet. "I know-"

"And the thing is, Juggie," he tells him, using the nickname he almost never hears from him these days, "she watched you put on a leather jacket for a legacy you were too ashamed of to even tell us about and she supported you. And then you treat her like she didn't know what it was like to lose her family? Like she couldn't possibly understand what being alone felt like?"

Furrowing his brow, Jughead wants to argue that he didn't do that. "But-"

Archie keeps cutting him off. "Her entire family fell apart and apparently it didn't count because your mom took off with Jellybean a couple years ago. My mom moved out of state too, Jug. Life is hard, man. But you? You seem to get off on making it harder for yourself."

"I know I've been distracted-"

"Nah, Jug. What you've been? Is a selfish prick," he interrupts again. As he's about to turn to go back into his house he pauses before speaking. "And by the way? Betty left days ago. She waited for a week for you to call her or text her. She waited for you to show up at her door before you got whatever it is you got that made you feel guilty enough to finally show your face."

Archie sighs heavily. "Jughead. You'll always be my brother but I want to know one thing."

"What?"

"If you treated the Serpents the way you've been treating Betty, would they still forgive you the way she did? The family you made without her while she watched, would they forgive you the same sins?" he asks him. "Because I don't think they would."

With that Archie goes back into his house leaving Jughead on the porch to stare at Betty's house. A house with no Betty in it. No Betty to forgive him and tell him it's okay. No bright green eyes and a comforting touch to hold him through his demons. No smile as bright as the sun as he kisses her hello or goodnight.

His head hanging as he makes his way to his bike he remembers the fight that got him where he was. Alone.

 _"I need to be there, Betty. It's important that I be at Serpent events, you know that."_

 _Betty is nodding at him, a sad smile on her face. "I know. I was just thinking since my mom will be visiting Polly-"_

 _"Betts, we can be alone anytime, this isn't something I can just skip, it's Fangs' birthday party, Toni and Sweet Pea want it to be a surprise."_

 _He sees Betty is blinking rapidly, trying to compose herself. Watching her pull her Cooper facade together he's trying not to be irritated with her pushing him on this. It's only one night._

 _"Okay. I understand, I do, but-" She stops and swallows. "-I was hoping to you'd want to come over and maybe we could even hang out with Archie, like old times."_

 _Jughead huffs a laugh out at her. "Old times? Are we supposed to sit around telling the same old stories like some family reunion?"_

 _"Jughead," Betty says, the hurt on her face clear. "What are you saying?"_

 _"When's the last time Archie came to hang out with me, Betty? When's the last time he did more than send a text asking me what's going on?" Jughead rolls his eyes._

 _"Archie's your family, Jug, we both-"_

 _"The Serpents are my family, Betty, I need to be for them," he says, making her take a step back. She looks shocked and he's so frustrated that he runs his hand through his hair, forgetting for a moment about his hat before grabbing it off his head and re-adjusting it back into to place._

 _By the time he realizes what he's done and what he's said, he's left standing alone in the middle of his living room not knowing if Betty just broke up with him or not._

 _The next night, he was nursing a drink at the Wyrm trying to blend in with the walls while everyone around him laughed and enjoyed the party. He hadn't heard from Betty, he didn't even know if he still had a girlfriend, honestly. The more he sat on it the angrier that he got that she didn't offer to come to the Wyrm, to spend the night with him, she knew he needed to be around for these parties as the leader of the Serpents. How would it look if the person they put in charge couldn't be bothered to support one of his brothers?_

 _He winces when he sees Cheryl sit down next to him. He doesn't want to talk to anyone right now, let alone Cheryl Blossom of all people._

 _"What are you doing here?" she asks disdainfully. "Shouldn't you be climbing through the Cooper's windows like the leather lothario only Cousin Betty seems to think you are?"_

 _"It's Fangs' birthday, of course I'm going to be here," he says with a glare at her._

 _She looks surprised. "Really? You're not going to Betty's later? You weren't with her earlier?"_

 _Jughead leans back at her shock and lack of nickname for Betty. "What are you talking about?"_

 _Shaking her head at him, she looks at him in disapproval. "I know you've been busy, oh mighty Serpent Prince, but tell me that I'm mixed up and I am not staring at my cousin's boyfriend drinking in a bar celebrating someone else's birthday right now."_

 _"Why would that even matter to you, Cheryl?"_

 _She flips her hair over her shoulder and stands up with a disgusted look. "Because, Jones, it's Betty's birthday today too."_

* * *

"I know you're sad, B, but you're at the beach," Veronica says, gesturing to the water with smile.

"I'm still processing." Betty smiles sadly at her. "Thanks for inviting me to your family's beach house, I probably should have just agreed the first time you asked."

"You're always welcome where I am, you know that. And you take all the time you need, but while you're doing it, you're gonna do it with a tan and sunmade highlights in that gorgeous blonde hair of yours!" Veronica exclaims, pushing her sunglasses to sit higher on her nose and setting her phone on her thigh.

"It just-it never occured to me he wasn't on the same page, V," Betty says, repeating the same sentiment she's been saying for days now. "I can't believe how selfish I've been to not even realize how I've been planning a life with someone who was planning their own-"

"Betty! You are not selfish and you need to stop that line of thinking," Veronica interrupts. "Jughead made bad choices, too, you can't keep blaming yourself for everything that went wrong."

"Why would he stay with me, Veronica? If I was such an inconvenience in his life?" Betty asks, tears threatening to fall for the third time since they ate breakfast that morning. "I know he was busy and stressed out, I tried to be supportive, I thought I was, I didn't think I was asking for too much-"

"He loved you, Bettykins, you know that."

"Did he?"

"Of course he loved you, I know he did," Veronica reassures her.

"Loved. Even you say it past tense. Was it that obvious to everyone but me?"

"Betty-"

"No, you told me to wake up and see what I was ignoring and I did. I see it now. I just thought we would be forever, not a detour."

"We all did."

Betty wipes her eyes and stares at the rolling waves in front of her. "Yeah, everyone but Jug."

* * *

He's staring at his phone in horror. Having called Veronica as a last ditch effort, he was shocked when she actually answered. After no one had said anything to him he was about to hang up when he heard the sweet sound of Betty's voice.

Jughead hadn't realized how much support Betty had been giving him with the Serpents, he never noticed she was cleaning or cooking food for the trailer, washing his clothes in her free time so he could run a gang he knew he wasn't equipped to run and refused to let go of out of pride. Most of the elders had no interest in helping him find his feet and he already felt like he'd been taking at least a year too long to actually get a good grip on the reigns of being in charge.

Hearing her take all of the blame for his failures was like salt in a wound he wasn't aware he'd had. And then to hear her think he didn't even love her anymore was enough to make him nauseous.

Thinking back, he can clearly see the slow decline of their relationship.

 _"Juggie, I was thinking we could spend the day together, what do you think?" she asks with a sunny smile, wearing a pretty sundress that shows her shoulders to the summer sun._

 _"Sorry, Betts, I need to meet Sweet Pea at the Wyrm," he says with regret. "How about tomorrow?"_

 _"Sure," she agrees easily._

 _Tomorrow never came_

* * *

 _"Are you coming to Archie's performance this weekend?" she asks as they lay in bed, both happy they found a few hours to spend alone together._

 _"What performance?"_

 _"He got some all ages club owner in Greendale to let him play for the crowd on Friday. He's not getting paid but he says the exposure is important."_

 _Jughead exhales and shakes his head. "I can't, I-"_

 _"It's okay, Jug, I'll tell Archie you're busy, don't worry," she says with an soft smile, squeezing his arm in support._

 _He doesn't watch Archie perform for at least a year after that._

* * *

 _"Hey Jug," Betty says as soon as he answers the phone._

 _"What's up, Betty?"_

 _"Well, I was thinking you might want to come to the river-"_

 _"I can't, baby, the Serpents are going to the quarry. You should come with," he interrupts, trying to find his keys while talking to her._

 _"Are you sure?"_

 _"Yeah, it'll be fun."_

 _He holds her hand that day but only talks to her for maybe five minutes._

* * *

 _He forgets an anniversary and her smile barely falters as she hands him the gift she got him._

* * *

 _He spends Christmas at Toni's grandfather's house, telling Betty he'll be at her house for dinner, four o'clock sharp._

 _He loses track of time and shows up at eight o'clock instead._

* * *

 _It's Valentine's Day and though he hates it, he's promised Betty that they'd spend the night together. She's standing on his porch about to knock, wearing her hair down and a light pink dress._

 _He'd been on his way out, he'd forgotten what day it was._

* * *

 _He misses a birthday party for the twins Alice insisted on having during one of Polly's visits._

* * *

 _He doesn't text her back. He forgets to call. He makes promises he can't keep. He tells her things will calm down once he figures out how to handle everything._

* * *

 _She smiles. She understands. She accepts. She supports. She makes promises she keeps and believes him that it's just temporary and they'll get back to their normal soon._

* * *

 _He takes her for granted._

* * *

Veronica answers her phone at eleven o'clock in the evening to a weary Jughead.

"Hello, Forsythe." Her tone is icy. "How may I help you?"

 _"She thinks I don't love her anymore?"_ He sounds broken.

"Somehow she thinks she did this to the both of you," Veronica tells him cooly. "I watched it, Jughead, I watched you tell her every time you missed something, every time you postponed a date, every time you decided your precious Serpents, you know, the ones you haven't known for the last thirteen years were more important than her and I told her to have some damn self preservation but she's a glutton for punishment, our Betty."

 _"This isn't her fault-"_

"It's at least half her fault," Veronica interrupts. "Don't do that to her, don't put her on the pedestal she can't keep her balance on. She should have yelled and cried and maybe put little holes in that wool monstrosity on your head out of passive aggressive anger but she didn't. She let you do it as much as you did it to her. You're not a mind reader and she's not a doormat and you both treated the other like you were, you're both at fault here, Jughead."

 _"Veronica, I need to talk to her."_

"That didn't occur to you in the seven days she waited?"

A heavy sigh comes across the line. _"I-"_

"Yeah, I know," she cuts him off. "You have your pride, don't you? But guess what you don't have, Jones? You don't have Betty."

She can hear the sharp inhale of breath he takes. "So, FP Three, what are you going to do? If you can't be the boyfriend she needs maybe you need to let her go-"

 _"No!"_ is yelled so loudly she has to hold the phone slightly away from her ear.

"Then just what are you going to do?"

 _"I-I don't know what to do, I don't-I can't keep losing her, Veronica."_ A shaky breath. _"There is nothing about a life without Betty that I want."_

Smiling to herself she decided to throw him the bone she'd been holding on to. "Finally, something you say makes some sense. Check your email in about five minutes and you'll find the details to claim the plane ticket I bought you. If you mess this up, Jughead Jones, I will convince Betty to come live with me and I'll personally send you pictures of every date I can get her to go on, is that clear?"

 _"I'll be there."_

* * *

"How do you manage to go back to the city after spending a month here every summer?" Betty asks Veronica, laying out in her swimsuit for the third day in a row. The big sunglasses on her face are hiding how tired she knows she looks.

"Force of will, B."

Betty turns her head to look at her laying on the chaise lounge next to hers. She's laid out with a floppy hat and sunglasses, the black bathing suit she's wearing looking effortlessly chic.

"Hey, Veronica. Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course, Betty-love,"

Rolling over to face her fully she pulls her glasses off and lays her cheek on the hand she's tucked under her head. "Are you over Archie? I mean really over him?"

Veronica looks at her sharply. "Betty-"

"No, V, I know you hate talking about it but I need to know, I need to know if I'll ever feel like my heart isn't missing all its pieces."

"Betty," Veronica sighs, glancing past her shoulder in contemplation for a second before looking back at her. "I will always love Archie. And I think loving someone means they're always one of your weaknesses, so no, I may never be completely over him. I don't think I want to be, letting him go fully feels like forgetting and I'm never going to want to forget my Archiekins."

"Then why-"

"Just because it isn't our time now doesn't mean it can't be our time later," she interrupts. "And, you know, I really think you'll be okay."

"I wish I could believe you."

Veronica smiles at her, checking the time on her phone. "Can you go get the sunscreen? I think I left it in my bathroom."

Betty nods and makes her way back to the beach house, so lost in thought she completely misses the dark figure sitting on the sofa in the living room, looking completely out of place in the light and airy room, the light blue of the cushions contrasting sharply with the black of his jeans and shirt.

"Betty."

"Jughead?"

* * *

He's been sitting on the sofa in Veronica's family's pretentious beach house for over an hour with his head in his hands by the time he sees Betty walk through the door. She's not paying attention and he knows that face, the one that says she's thinking deeply and completely distracted.

Swallowing the lump in his throat he says her name to get her attention. "Betty."

"Jughead?" She immediately crosses her arms defensively and stares at the floor. "What are you doing here?"

"I needed to see you," he tells her in a rough voice. "I need to talk to you."

"You flew out here to talk to me?" she asks, her eyes narrowing. "I was at home all last week. Where was your desire to talk to me then?"

He closes his eyes and runs his hands through his hair again, the beanie long abandoned on the table in front of him. "Betty-"

"I've been waiting for you to actually speak real words to me for months, Jug. All I've gotten is hello and goodbye and sorry, I'll make it up to you, and oh, can that wait, but now you want to talk to me? To tell me what, Jughead?" She's yelling by the end and he's glad she's got her fire back. "What do you want to tell me? That the Serpents made you king of the whole Southside? That their king needs to be at their beck and call? That you don't need to spend time with your Northsider girlfriend and why can't you find a nice Southside girl?"

Jughead rears back in shock. "You heard that?"

Betty scoffs. "Of course I did. So, Jughead, you already made your choice, long ago. Why are you here?" She's glaring at him. The heat of her eyes would burn him if they could.

He stands up, facing her from across the table with determination. "I love you."

She looks like he slapped her. Her eyes are wide and she looks like she's on the verge of being torn between screaming and sobbing. He keeps going.

"I love you, Betty. I used the fact that you martyr yourself to my advantage because it made my life easier. I ignored you and I let you down. I neglected our relationship and I gave you all of the weight to carry because I didn't want to do it when I felt like I had so much other stuff going on," he says, taking a breath. "I assumed you'd always be there because you always have been. I took you for granted and I didn't love you the way you deserve."

"What-"

"No, let me finish. I've been a terrible boyfriend to you and what's worse, what's so much worse, Betty, is that I've been a terrible friend to you too. Your family is a mess and I brushed it off because I thought mine was worse. I forgot dates, your birthday even, and ignored the things I knew were important to you because I was failing to handle my own bullshit. I've been self-involved and honestly Betty? I have no idea why it took you so long to leave."

Betty is crying as she whispers, "Because I love you."

Wiping her cheeks off she continues. "I love you and I let you push me off and ignore me and make me feel like I wasn't important, and that's on me. I sucked it up and smiled through it as your friends became more and more important to you and I wanted that for you, Jughead, I do want it for you but I never once thought you'd forget about me."

"I didn't mean to-"

"Isn't that just the thing, Jug? You never mean for anything to happen and when you're not fighting the world, you're letting it happen to you! Balance has never been your strong point and I accept that, I was willing to stand back and let you handle what you needed to in your own way because you're too stubborn to accept help sometimes and you're too prideful to admit when you can't do something. I love and hate those things about you and I wouldn't change them, they make you who you are but I feel like you used them as weapons against me."

He feels like she just stabbed him in the gut. Not able to stop the tears that start to roll down his face, he just pushes at them with the back of his hand as he hears the pain in her voice.

"I love you so much, Juggie, I do, but I kept ruining us further-" Betty starts crying harder, trying to get the words out. "All I wanted was you and when I figured out you didn't want the same thing, I had no idea how we got there."

"I want you, I always want you, I'll always want you," he insists firmly through a breaking voice. "There is no life I want where you're not in it."

"You could have fooled me," she whimpers, her lip wobbling as she tries to hold back more tears.

"I wanted to get this right, Betty, I wanted to lead the Serpents and prove that I could do it. If I could do that, then maybe-"

"Maybe what?"

"Then," he sighs, "just maybe I can be the man who gets to marry Betty Cooper one day. You're the best thing I have and the only thing I'm completely certain I'll want for forever."

Betty is staring at him and he has no idea what she's thinking, something that he hates. He wants to know every face she makes.

"You...you want to marry me?" she asks, disbelief clear in her words.

"Sometimes -oh god- sometimes, Betty, I think it's all I've ever wanted," he chokes out, wiping a fist under his eye. "There's no me without you and I'll never forgive myself for letting you think otherwise."

They're both crying in some over decorated beach house owned by a man that once tried to kill him and the only thing he can think of is that she's still the most beautiful girl in the world. He takes a deep breath and gathers the tattered remains of his courage and rounds the table to approach her.

Reaching out tentatively he runs a thumb across her cheek, gathering the leftover tears and pushing them off her face. When she doesn't retreat he takes the chance to gather her in his arms, wrapping them tightly around her. Pushing his face into her hair as he feels her arms lock around his back he whispers in her ear, "This isn't how Romeo and Juliet get a happy ending, baby, we can do better than this."

She's nodding into his collar before he hears her speak. "We can do better than this. We are better than this."

Leaning back to look at her face, he moves to cup her cheeks in his hands, kissing her softly before saying, "There's my girl. I've missed her."

Betty breaks at his words and starts sobbing again as she throws her arms around his neck, holding onto him tightly. Hugging her back, he's stroking her hair, her back, up and down her sides in all the ways he knows comforts her when he realizes something.

"Betts, you're in a bathing suit."

Laughing, she pulls back to look up at him. "You just noticed that?"

 **A/N: These kids, am I right? Part two to immediately follow**


	2. Chapter 2

"Will you come home?" he whispers into her hair, pressing a kiss on her forehead.

Her swollen eyes are still bright as she pulls back to look at him. "No."

His stomach feels like it falls through all the way to his feet at her denial of coming home with him. Jughead doesn't even bother fighting the new tears that start to run down his face. Nodding, he rubs his hands up and down her arms, accepting her answer.

"Will you ever come home?"

Betty exhales and steps back, crossing her arms. "You've got to deal with the Serpents, Jughead. I don't want to watch you destroy yourself again and I can't let myself get destroyed again either."

"What does this mean?" he asks, his voice breaking.

Betty wipes her cheek off, rubbing away the new tears that started with his own. "It means...I guess it means I'm going to spend the summer with Veronica and you're going to go home and run the Serpents. If you want to be with me, I mean really be in this with me, then, I don't know Jughead, you need to prove it."

"How-"

Betty cuts him off. "I hate that I feel like I'm giving you an ultimatum, I do. I want to come home with you and for everything to be okay but it won't be. You need to either learn to delegate or figure out how to ask for help, you're drowning and pretending you're not is not helping yourself."

"The elders, Betty, they want me to fail," he tells her. "I don't want to prove them right."

"Then don't," she says simply with a shrug. "Just because you're in charge doesn't mean you're alone. I've been trying to tell you that for way too long. But you can't do it all, Jug, no one can."

"I want you by my side, Betts, I need you there-"

"You didn't before," she interrupts, a hard look in her eye.

"That's not true, Betty," Jughead huffs out. "I wanted you to finish school and be free to make choices for yourself that didn't revolve around a gang like mine do. Please believe that I have always wanted you with-"

"Then where were you, Jughead?!" she shouts at him, walking away before turning back around to face him. "You missed holidays and canceled plans and you look me in the eye to tell me you love me and that you want me with you but where were you when I needed you with me? The Serpents!"

"I know."

"And my birthday? Where were you? Not with me," she says shakily, taking a deep breath trying to compose herself. "You weren't with me. You say all you want is to be with me but you never are, Jughead. Words mean nothing unless you can back them up. And you know what? I had to leave Riverdale to even get your attention for longer than it takes to tell me you've got to go!" she shouts, pointing at him with an accusing finger.

"I'm sorry," he tells her softly. "I wanted to go to you once I figured it out but...you'd already left me, Betty, I didn't want to live through it twice."

"What twice? What are you talking about?"

Jughead closes his eyes and tilts his head back. "Archie telling me you don't want to see me anymore."

 _"I came here to tell you stay away from Betty. She doesn't want to see you anymore."_

Sometimes he hears those words in his ear, when he knows he's making the wrong choice. It doesn't make sense, he's aware. He wants to give her the life he thinks she deserves, he knows he's not good enough for her, he's the reason they're still in Riverdale, there's a whole list he repeats to himself when he's fighting what he should do with what he wants to do.

He never not wants to be with Betty.

Betty laughs, the harsh sound of it derisive. "You can not be serious. You know, for all you let me 'martyr myself' you sure want to get up on that cross yourself, don't you?"

Taken aback by her words, he just stares at her.

"You constantly offer yourself up for the cause, Jughead. You joined a gang while lying to me about it, you left me in a dark parking lot after breaking up with me, for my safety of course, you get involved in drag races and with crooked lawyers and chain yourself to a building in the name of what's right but when it comes to stuff you can actually lose, you push it away!"

Betty pauses before her shoulders fall slightly. "You either run away or you lash out and I've always taken it, I've let it go because I know you, Jug, I know how you work and I can handle all of that, I have been, actually, but I need more than you seem capable of giving me right now."

"Betty-"

"I want to be with you, I love you more than anything but if I'm never going to be as important you as you are to me then kissing me that day in my bedroom might be the cruelest thing you've ever done." Blinking, she stares at him for a moment. "I want to believe it'll be different-"

"It will be, I promise," he pleads with her, trying to reach for her hands.

"There were times I wish you'd never kissed me, you know?" she says in a shaking voice. "You kissed me and suddenly you weren't just one of my best friends, you became everything." Taking a deep breath she wipes the stray tears from under her eyes. "And then you took it away with no warning, no explanation, leaving me to pick up all my broken parts alone and I was so used to you being there to help me with them I forgot that my friend was the one hurting me. Who was I supposed to turn to then? I wanted you and you were nowhere to be found!"

"Baby, listen to me," he says, stepping closer to her to tilt her head up to look at him. "I can fix this. I will fix it, okay? Tell me what you need."

Eyes watering again, she looks past him for a moment before meeting his eyes again. "If you're standing here right now telling me you're going to fix it and nothing changes, then the most unforgivable thing you'll ever have done is tell me you love me and let me love you back."

He pulls her in for a tight hug, her face buried in his collar as her arms stay by her sides. "Betty, I love you, okay? And if I never say anything else that means anything ever again, know that the truest truth I have is that I love you."

"I need to learn how to believe that you love me again," she replies.

He chokes on a sob at her words. The one thing he's always known is that he loves Betty and to know that she doesn't know how to believe him anymore makes him realize how much damage he's done.

"Listen to me," he pleads with her, "whatever you need, I'll do it, just tell me what to do."

"I don't know," she tells him. "I want to be with you but how can I when you've got so much stuff you think is more important?"

"Betty, that's not-"

"Maybe it's just not our time right now-"

"No!" he exclaims, his knees buckling at her words. He steadies himself by sitting on the table that was behind them, pulling her stand between his legs. "Betty, our time is this life. This entirety of my lifetime is yours. "

His hands are gripping tightly to her hips as he rests his forehead on her stomach. When her hands come up to land lightly around his shoulders he presses a series of kisses to her sternum, fingers so tight on her waist he thinks they might be locked in place.

"Betty, baby, listen to me please," he murmurs against the fabric of her bathing suit. "I know I took advantage of your loyalty, I know I let you down, I know it, I know I messed up and let you think I don't love you more than anything in the world but it's not true."

"It feels true," she whispers, running her fingers through his hair.

"I'll make you believe me, Betty, I promise," he insists, breathing her in as he wraps his arms around her hips, holding her in place.

* * *

Betty stays with Veronica as Jughead goes back to Riverdale and he thinks little pieces of him falls away with each mile separating them but he knows he needs to fix what he's done.

Veronica called it his "Jughead Jones Apology Tour" much to her own amusement and he supposes she's right based on the reason he's standing outside of Archie's house that day. He's working up the courage to knock on the door when he gets a text from Veronica.

She wishes you were here! are the words under a picture of Betty in a pretty pink and white bikini as she's laying back on a towel with wet hair, the water from the ocean still visible on her skin. Breathing in deep, he goes to knock when he gets another text. It's a selfie of Veronica in sunglasses, drinking something through a straw with the caption I don't.

Laughing to himself, he pockets his phone as he knocks on the door before he can talk himself out of it. Vegas barking at the sound makes him smile, it's almost like nothing has changed for a brief moment.

That is, until he meets the hard eyes of Archie as he opens the door.

"What are you doing here, Jug?"

"Hey, Arch. Can I come in?" he asks him, sticking both hands in his pockets feeling awkward and out of place at one of the only places he felt at home while growing up.

Archie pauses, staring at him for a moment. He narrows his eyes at him before pulling the door open in invitation.

"Thanks," he says as he passes him through the doorway and into the Andrews' house. "How have you been, Archie?"

"Really?" he asks him, incredulous. "That's what you came here for?"

"No, not really. I'm here on what a certain brunette we both know calls my apology tour," he informs him. "And no, I'm not here because Betty told me to, this wasn't her idea."

Archie leads him into the kitchen, sitting at the island and waiting for him to start talking.

"Look, man, I've been a mess," he starts. "I threw everything into the Serpents and-"

"Forgot about the people who care about you just because you're you?" Archie interrupts.

Jughead winces. "Yeah, something like that. You were right, you know? I was self-involved and selfish and I didn't even see it until I lost Betty."

"Betty didn't forgive you then?"

"She's Betty so of course she forgave me but she doesn't trust me right now," he admits, his head falling at the admission.

Archie leans further against the wood of the island top. "Should she?"

Jughead takes a sharp breath. "I want to say yeah, you know? But I made her leave me, Arch, so now I need to make her want to come home."

He's nodding at him, tapping his fingers in a steady rhythm. "Jughead, Betty loves you. She defended you a lot longer than the rest of us did."

"I know."

"What were you thinking, man?"

Jughead sighs and shakes his head. "I was so focused on not failing the people who were waiting for me to fail, I failed the people who never thought I would. Betty...I took her for granted, I ignored her because I could and I'm not sure I'll ever forgive myself for that."

Archie blows out a breath as he raises his eyebrows at him. "What do you want from me, Jug?"

"Forgiveness? A punch to the face? Whatever you want to give, man."

Considering him for a moment, Archie finally gives him one of those affable Andrews smiles. "How about a burger? Your treat, of course."

"You got it."

* * *

"Where have you been?" he hears one of the elders ask as soon as he's through the door of the Wyrm.

Rolling his shoulders and his eyes he turns to look at the older Serpent. "I had more important business to take care of."

Passing by, he makes his way to the back of the bar. Sitting at their regular table he finds Sweet Pea and Fangs sitting by themselves, talking quietly. They both look up at him when he pulls a chair out to sit down.

"What's up?" he asks, leaning back and taking his phone out of his pocket to check if Veronica had sent him any more pictures of Betty on their vacation. Seeing an attachment, he opens it with a smile on his face.

To help keep you motivated is the text below a close up of the curve of Betty's hip, with just a hint of her belly button showing. One of his very favorite places. He reminds himself to send a thank you to Veronica later for it.

"What're you smiling at, Jones?" Sweet Pea asks. "Get a new girl already since the last one left you high and dry like we all knew she would?"

Jughead ignores him, staring at the picture on his phone. He sees Fangs elbow Sweet Pea out the side of his eye as he goes into his photo album. Pictures of Betty are predominant, with her half asleep in the morning and her hair a mess, of her caught off guard in the kitchen dancing as she bakes. There's one of her in nothing but his rumpled sheets, a particular favorite of his.

Finally looking over at Sweet Pea, he grins before telling him, "Shut the fuck up."

Sweet Pea's eyes get bigger and he starts to scowl. "Where'd you disappear to? You were just gone for like three days, what kind of king are you?"

Jughead tries not to groan. "You are an eternal pain in my ass, you know that?" Leaning on his elbows, he stares at him from across the table. "I'm not dealing with your shit anymore, okay? Don't talk about Betty."

"Where is she?" Fangs asks, a softer look on his face than the one on Sweet Pea's.

"With Veronica Lodge until I get my shit together," he says matter of factly, stretching his neck as he looks around the bar.

"So, she's never coming back, I take it?" Sweet Pea interjects, a smirk on his face.

"You know what I don't get, Sweets?" Jughead questions. "Is why you're holding Alice Cooper against Betty like you ever even knew her, like she somehow betrayed you personally. Hate to break it to you, pal, but Betty didn't even know her mom was ever a Serpent until after she'd started defending us. And she'd started that before I ever joined, so maybe for once in your life, just shut the fuck up about my girlfriend."

"She still your girlfriend, then?" Fangs asks quietly. Jughead knows he feels guilty over the whole birthday party thing. He remembers the spiral he went into directly after Cheryl informed him just what, exactly, he'd missed.

 _"Hey, Jones, what are you doing? Come and join the party!" Fangs exclaims, clapping a hand to his shoulder._

 _Jughead barely lifts his head from where it was laying on his arms on top of the bar. His eyes are red and glassy and he has to clear his throat more than once before words seem to work._

 _"What's wrong, man?" Fangs asks, looking concerned. "Do you want me to find Betty for you?"_

 _At that Jughead's face turns to a rictus of pain and his head falls back down to his arms._

 _"Jug," Fangs says softly, "where's Betty?"_

 _"She left me," he mutters from his place on the bar top. "I finally did it, I fucked up enough to make her leave me."_

 _Fangs sits next to him, leaning over so he can hear him better. "What are you talking about?"_

 _"I've been sitting here, mad, you know? I've been pissed off at her because she asked me to hang out with her and Archie tonight. I said no. Actually I acted like a total asshole about it because I wanted her here with me. I always want her with me, she belongs with me," he tells him with heavy sigh. "I was sitting here, being mad that she chose Archie instead of me and then Cheryl comes over to ask me what the fuck I'm doing."_

 _"And what are you doing?"_

 _"I was sitting here, miserable and angry because I wanted my girlfriend here with me when she knows how much I need her through all of this. And now? Now I'm sitting here because I'm miserable and angry with myself because instead of being with my girlfriend on her birthday like she asked, I blew up at her and she left me."_

 _"It's Betty's birthday?" Fangs asks, surprised. "Why didn't she say anything?"_

 _"Because Betty Cooper never puts anyone out. She never puts herself first and she certainly wouldn't try and take attention away from anyone on their own birthday," he informs Fangs morosely._

 _"Why're you here, Jughead?"_

 _Jughead shrugs. "On what planet do I deserve her if I can't even remember her birthday? I don't need to show up to have Archie tell me she doesn't want to see me for me to know she's left me."_

 _"You should try-"_

 _"Fangs, man, I know you're trying to help, but she left me and I deserved it. If she doesn't want to be with me, who am I to tell her any different if I can't even remember her birthday?"_

 _Jughead feels Fangs pat him on the shoulder, softer this time. "Don't do anything that you can't fix later, okay? Just think about it."_

Meeting Fangs' eyes, he tells him seriously, "That, I'm not entirely sure of, but as far as I'm concerned I'm still her boyfriend. I just need to make sure she knows that."

Sweet Pea scoffs at that. "Why man? There's so much pussy to be had, Jones. Why settle for your Northside Princess when you could have-"

Jughead slams a fist on the table, shocking Sweet Pea into silence. "Stop, man."

"Whatever," Sweet Pea mutters, crossing his arms and leaning back.

"So, we need to make some changes," Jughead starts to tell Fangs. "The elders don't want me running anything and I can't do it alone, I never could. If you're not interested in helping, tell me now so I can find replacements."

"Your girl tell you to step back or what?" Sweet Pea asks and Jughead almost groans in irritation.

"No," he says, "She told me to work my shit out and then maybe she'll come home. And trust me, Sweet Pea, I want her home more than I want you to help me, so if you want me to find someone else, I'll be fine with it."

Sweet Pea rolls his eyes at him. "Fine, man. Whatever."

* * *

He gets pictures from Veronica daily. Betty calls him every night and they talk for as long as they can, sometimes it's hours on a good night. He goes to one of Archie's performances and Archie comes the Wyrm to hang out once or twice. His dad starts to see that delegation isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength and trust in an unavoidable hierarchy.

The weather is cooling down when he gets a call from Betty saying she can't talk that night and that he should take the night off to relax. Go to the Wyrm, hang out with his friends and just enjoy what's left of the summer.

He's playing a game of pool when he gets the text from Archie that he can't meet him either. He'd been looking forward to hanging out with Archie for a few hours before going home to talk to Betty on the phone before passing out that night. Sighing to himself, he tells his dad he's going back to the trailer, his dad waving him off with a distracted smile as he talks to another Serpent.

Sighing to himself, he shrugs it off and makes his way back to the trailer thinking he might be able to get a little writing done if there's no Betty to talk to and no dad to distract him. The trailer is dark and he's almost glad to be by himself by the time he showers, finds something to eat, and turns on his laptop.

As soon as he's got it settled on his lap, his phone rings.

"Hey, baby," he answers with a smile, seeing Betty's name.

 _"Hi Juggie, what're you doing?"_

Adjusting the phone so he can settle the laptop more comfortably on his lap he leans further into the sofa cushions and tilts his head back as he answers her. "I didn't think you were going to call me so I was going to try and write some tonight."

 _"That's great, Jug. Veronica let me have furlough for a little while so I thought I'd see what you were up to."_

"I'm glad," he tells her, smiling to himself. "I miss you."

 _"I miss you too."_

Betty starts to say something else but it's interrupted by a text from Archie. _Hey, I'm gonna stop by okay?_

Silently groaning to himself, he can't believe he went from plans to no plans to looking forward to relaxing to now having plans. Plans that are now interrupting his phone call with Betty.

 _"Jug?"_

"Sorry, Betts, that was just a text from Archie. What were you saying?"

 _"I was saying that I miss you."_

Jughead's shoulder slump a little. "I miss you too, Betty. Do you...do you know when you might feel like coming home?"

"I don't know, Juggie. Home hasn't felt like home in a long time, you know?"

He stiffens at her words. "Betty -what- I mean, uh, what does that mean?"

 _"It means-"_

The knock at the door almost makes him throw his laptop. He knows Archie doesn't know he's having one of the most important conversations of his life but he's cursing the Andrews name for having the worst timing in the world.

"Betty, wait a sec, okay? I don't want to miss any of this but Archie just showed up because that's my luck." Getting up and heading to the door, he's cursing Archie's name in his head as he gets ready to yell at him to go away.

Throwing open the door, he groans out, "Andrews, I swear to god-"

"It means you're my home and I wanted to come home," is what he hears instead of Archie's expected voice. He knows that sweet tone, the light feminine sound that sends shivers up his spine, meaning it can only come from person.

"Betty." He says it with a break in his voice as his head snaps to look down at her standing on the tiny porch of his trailer, a bag in her hand. She's wearing denim overalls and a bright white t-shirt, her ponytail loose as she toes the ground a little uncertainly in her plain white sneakers.

He reaches out before she can get another word out and pulls her tightly to him. It's the first time he's seen her in person since he left her with Veronica for the summer and that had been weeks ago. His arms are wrapped tightly around her and he's breathing her in, the soft scent of her hair and the slight sweetness of her perfume, the inexplicable mixture that signals to his brain that it's Betty and that's all he needs to know. No one has ever smelled like her and he doubts anyone is capable of feeling like her.

"Hi, Jug," are the muffled words she speaks into his chest as her arms go around his back, holding him back just as tightly. "Can I come in?"

"What?" he asks, confused. Thrilled to have her back in his arms he's forgotten he's keeping her outside of the trailer, a bag that had been in her hand dropped next to her feet. "Yeah, come in."

Tugging her inside by the hand, he barely remembers to grab the bag as he pulls her through the doorway. He refuses to let go, bringing her to the sofa with him, sitting with her in his lap. His arms are around her middle, her back laying against his chest as he presses his face to the curve of her neck.

"I missed you so much," he murmurs into her skin, pressing a soft kiss to the back of her neck. "Every day."

"I missed you too," she replies, putting her hands on top of his. "Veronica is awful at being the big spoon."

Jughead groans at that. "You let Veronica spoon you? And I'm not supposed to be jealous?"

"Of Veronica?" Betty sounds confused.

He smiles into her hair. Bringing an arm up to cross across her chest, he's holding onto a shoulder as he pulls her back further into him so he can kiss her temple. "I love you."

She leans her head back on his shoulder, turning her neck and brushing her nose along the underside of his jaw. "I love you too."

"Are you home for good?" he asks, a little apprehensively.

Betty sits up and breaks the hold out of his arms, turning until she's straddling his legs. Her hands are holding onto the sides of his neck as she looks down at him. "I spent a long time thinking about it, talking about it, and I even had it out with my pillow once and each time I come to the same conclusion."

"Which is?"

"Home is only home if it's where you are."

He surges up and catches her lips with his. Hands on the back of her neck, he pulls her forward, locking her in place. Running his tongue along her lips, he slips it past them when she opens up to him, the slide of her tongue along his after so long making him groan into her mouth. Letting his hands slip past her shoulders all the way down her back until he grips her hips, his fingers flexing against them as he tries to find the edges so he can slide the tips of his fingers under the denim, stroking the soft skin sitting just below where her t-shirt ends.

Breaking the kiss, he breathes in and looks up at her. "Why would you wear these?"

She smiles at him. "I wasn't done making you work for it."

He throws his head back and moans in resignation. "You're going to kill me one day, Betty."

"I think you're being dramatic, Jug," she whispers to him, a raised eyebrow doubting his predicament as she reaches up to run her fingers through his hair, pushing his beanie off in the process.

"Is that right?" he questions, pulling her down against him as he pushes his hips up toward her. Her gasp has him smiling smugly. "I think I'm acting exactly as I should."

She rolls her eyes at him, leaning forward to kiss him once more when he lets go of her hips, trailing his hands upwards to the clasps holding the overalls together. Pushing them up and open, he tosses the straps behind her, letting the front fall own, exposing the white t-shirt completely.

Staring at her chest as she's breathing a little heavier than usual, the swells of her breasts moving up and down he bites back the urge to stick his face between her breasts until the only thing he can feel is her.

Jughead is focusing all of his attention on her eyes by sheer force of will when she bites her lip in a sly smirk and reaches down to pull her t-shirt off over her head, tossing it behind her. His breath catches and he sits up at her prompting, letting her peel his off of him, throwing it to the side as she leans down to him, her bra-clad breasts pressing against his chest distracting him as she murmurs, "You know, we never did manage to finish what we started on the counter."

Smiling at her, he's plucking at the straps of her bra when he responds to her. "I do know how you like to finish what you start."

"I believe you started that one," she says to him, reaching behind her and unclasping the bra, getting off his lap and letting both her bra and overalls fall to the floor. Taking a step out of them, she crooks her finger at him and he's up on his feet before he realizes what's going on. Just as she's about to kick her shoes off, he sees her in nothing but a pair of little white lacy panties and long legs leading right into her little white sneakers.

When he takes in the picture she makes, her messy ponytail topping it all off, he's faster than he thinks he's ever been, grabbing her around the waist, picking her up and spinning her around as he heads them into the kitchen, slamming her into the cabinet doors as he sets her on the counter, same as before.

Betty's knees come up and around him, her strong legs squeezing his ribs and hips as he leans into her, his hands coming up and rubbing his thumbs across her hardened nipples, making her moan lightly into the quiet of the trailer. The setting sun peeking through the windows has her hair glowing as nips and bites her collarbone, her legs tightening around him with each pass of his tongue as he gets lower and lower, sucking a mark onto the top of her breast, his palms heavy with the weight of them. Her hands are reaching for his waistband, trying to push them down as he takes a nipple in his mouth, rolling his tongue around it, a light suction making her hands falter and toss her head back with a shiver.

Moving one hand to her thigh, he rubs small circles on the inside of it moving up slowly, smiling against her skin when he feels the gooseflesh forming as her hips start to roll into him, searching for friction. Running his fingertips along the edge of her panties, he lets them slide in, slipping into the wet heat of her, moving up until he finds her clit, circling it with light pressure until she's mumbling for him to please, please, Jug. He knows what she wants so he slides one finger into her, keeping the pressure on her clit as her hands start to get more and more uncoordinated while trying to push his pants off of his hips.

She's staring at him, her eyes half lidded as he smirks at her, the push and pull of his fingers sliding in and out of her causing her lashes to flutter as she tells him, "You're so smug, it's ridiculous."

Jughead's smirk gets even bigger. "I'm about to fuck you incoherent, baby, I have reason to be smug."

"Incoherent?"

"Mmhmm," he says to her, working his hand faster, making her eyes close completely as she grabs his sides, giving up on his pants as she loses herself to the sensations.

He can feel her getting closer as he slides a second finger in, the friction causing her hips to jerk as he hits a perfect spot while keeping a steady pressure on her clit. His other hand settles on her stomach, pushing on her lower abdomen as his fingers move in and out, making her moan

loudly into his ear, her knees moving higher as she starts to come, her whole body starting to shudder.

The feel of the soles of her sneakers against his lower back remind him of what she looked like standing there in nothing but panties and shoes he groans lowly as he works her through her orgasm before slipping out of her and pushing his own pants to the ground, leaving them to fall around his feet.

Betty is smiling softly at him, panting and leaning back against the cabinet door when she pulls at his shoulders trying to fit him back between her thighs. As he's about to slip into her, he stops and pulls back.

"Wait, Betty, what about birth control?" he asks, trying to think if he has any random condoms lying around his bedroom.

"What?" she murmurs at him, still pulling on him. "I'm still on the pill, Jug."

He breathes a sigh of relief and for the first time in far too long he slips into the heat of her, the feeling of being home crashing down on him, making his eyes water and he buries his head into her neck, her arms wrapping around his shoulders as he slides in and out, the motion familiar and the friction building the tension in his spine, the fluttering in his abdomen telling him it wasn't going to take very long at all. He speeds up, each thrust in making her back bump against the door behind her, her panting breaths in his ear sending shivers throughout him as she whispers his name, telling him to go harder, her legs locked around him as his arms hold onto her.

Leaning down once to press more kisses to her breasts, he's pushing his hips into her over and over, slamming into her hard enough for each pass to hit her clit, making her bite her lip to try and keep herself quieter than he knows she wants to be.

"I wanna hear you," he tells her, staring hard into her face.

She opens her eyes and looks at him, nodding, letting her lip go and he can't help himself as he moves forward to take it between his teeth, his tongue working over the swollen flesh, her groans with each thrust getting louder and louder into the quiet dark of the room.

The clattering of whatever's on the counter is telling him he's going harder than normal, his need for her overwhelming him as he tries to hold on so she can finish one more time. He almost sobs in relief when her body starts to flutter around him, her nails digging into his shoulder blades as she twitches, her loud moan sending him over the edge as well, his loud moan of her name getting lost in their heavy breathing.

He kisses her forehead before moving to her lips, hands coming up to cup her cheeks as he tells her, "I love you."

"What?" Betty asks incoherently and he laughs.

"I'm going to remind you later that I really did fuck you incoherent, you know that right? But first," he says, "I'm going to carry you to bed and once you can think, I'm going to do it again."

"Okay," she mumbles out, her head flopped back against the cabinet.

Slipping out of her with a groan, he's kicking off his pants so he can pick her up off the counter and take her to the bedroom when he remembers the bag she arrived with.

"Betty," he starts, "what's with the bag?"

Smiling softly at him she tells him, "I told you, Jug, I wanted to come home and you're home."

 **A/N: Here's the end and we all made it! Woot.**


End file.
